Success, or what you define as success, financial or otherwise, are a direct result of behaviours. The small tasks, the habits you do every day create an environment of motion and progress.

Do you want financial success? Spend less than you make every day.

Do you want to be mentally free to focus on family on the weekends? Use your time and task management system religiously. Don't stray.

Do you want to learn how to code so you can open up an online shop? Practice every day. Just 30 minutes a day adds up to almost 3.5 hours a week.

The only barrier to success is ourselves. "I don't have time" or "I'm so busy" end up just being excuses.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
– John C. Maxwell

I'm say this as much to myself as anyone: just do it. Success won't come by accident.

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Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

Limited willpower is the most significant obstacle to getting things done. I only have so much available to make decisions. Every decision I have to make means it’s less likely I’ll take action. In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport states, “You have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted as you use it.”

A couple routines and rituals I’ve instituted in my life to ensure I reserve my willpower for actionable tasks are to have a wake-up routine and to choose my clothes I’ll wear for the day the night before. Choosing my clothes prevents me from having to use my fresh-from-sleep mind from an insignificant decision. My wake-up routine means I don’t have to think about what I’m going to do when I get up, I just do it.

For full transparency, my morning routine is to get up around 4:30 am, get dressed in the clothes I’ve set out, use the washroom, make Earl Grey tea, write, read my Bible and journal, do some work until 7 am, make breakfast, get my kids ready for the day, and finally, walk to my office.

I thrive on routine. Keeping this routine has saved my energy and willpower for what’s most important, the essentials.